Last time around, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce joined the pro-tax hike crowd of elites who did everything they could to push through a sales tax hike in Orange County. They failed, but only by a narrow margin. But that hasn’t deterred commissioners, who repeatedly show disdain for the folks paying for their nanny-state expansion of government, including a $45,000 appropriation for a breast feeding consultant. Now the board plans to put the 1/4 cent tax hike on the ballot in the fall. And since rural voters will have no offices to vote for — it’s a municipal election — is there any doubt their timing is intended to make it harder for rural voters to defeat the tax hike again? The question is, will the Chamber again support the hike? From Mark Schultz of the News & Observer:
Over pizza at IP3 today, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber CEO Aaron Nelson told me he doesn’t know if his board will go to bat again for the quarter-center sales tax increase.
“It shouldn’t be assumed we’re for it again,” he said.
Nelson later clarified that he doesn’t know how his board will vote. The Chamber’s executive committee is expected to discuss the proposed tax increase, which will be on this fall’s ballot, for the first time Wednesday morning.
